Dignity
by Elise Marie
Summary: SG-1 without Teal'c are sent to find SG-12. They soon find the missing SG team when they break the same law!


Title: Dignity

Author: Elise Hudson.

Email: elisemarie9lycos.co.uk

This story can also be found at my site class=MsoNormal align=center 'text-align:center'Category: Sam/Jack UST/romance.

Spoilers/Season: Anytime with Jonas in tow.

Rating: PG-15

Content Warnings: Violence and mentions of attempted rape (nothing too graphic).

Summary: SG-1 (without Teal'c) are sent to a planet where SG-12 went missing and they soon find them in the prison when they break the exact same law!

Disclaimer: Stargate and SG-1 are the property of Showtime, MGM, Double Secret and Gekko and they do not belong to the author. This piece of fanfiction was created solely for entertainment purposes and no money was exchanged. No copyright infringement was intended and the original characters, situations and plots are property of the author. This piece of fanfiction must not be archived without the author's consent.

Comments: My muse is back for the time being so I'm making the most of my relative un-employment to abuse the muse. Thanks to my wonderful beta-reader and friend who listens to all of my complaining and angst, Daniela.

Enjoy!

Copyright © Elise June 2004.

Dignity

Colonel O'Neill sighed as he walked up and down the stalls of the market-way. This was not his kind of mission and he was more than just a little bit bored. Along with himself, Major Samantha Carter and Jonas Quinn had been sent undercover to P7R-787 to find the four missing members of SG-12. SG-12's mission had been a simple recon, but they had failed to check in after their fourth day. They had reported that the planet had very strict laws and upheld them incredibly tightly. General Hammond had feared that SG-12 had accidentally broken one of these laws so he did not want to send in an attack team to this otherwise harmless planet. He just wanted his team back and fighting was not always the answer. So Teal'c had been sent on downtime because his presence on P7R would not have gone unnoticed and the other three had been sent to the planet. They had dressed in local clothing - sandy coloured trousers (long skirt for Carter) and baggy tops - and were passing themselves off as visitors from another city, not another planet. As visitors from another city, Carter and Jonas were talking with the locals, cleverly trying to figure out what had happened to SG-12.

"Yes," an old lady continued, "we had some visitors through here just the other day."

Carter looked at O'Neill and raised her eyebrows. SG-12 maybe, they both thought. Carter turned back to the woman with whom Jonas was talking. "Really?" she asked. "Where were they from?"

The old lady turned to look at Carter. There was something in her eyes that O'Neill could not place, but he did not like it. "They claimed that they were from another planet."

"Really?" Jonas asked enthusiastically and earning himself a smile from the lady. "Where are they now, these other-worldly people?"

The market lady seemed to have taken a shine to Jonas so O'Neill moved onto the next stall while Jonas continued his conversation. He took to studying the food that was available on this one. It was a fruit and vegetable stall, he thought. They looked like fruits anyway. He did not really care. Except now he was getting hungry.

"Bored, sir?"

O'Neill turned at the quiet voice in his ear. It was Carter, smiling one of her million dollar smiles at him. She knew him too well. "What gave it away?"

"You're looking at fruit, sir, and everyone knows you're a donut and chips kinda guy."

"I doubt they have any of that here. Crummy planet."

"Good man," the gentleman behind this stall said. O'Neill and Carter looked over at the portly man who would no doubt now try and sell them some food. "Can I interest you in some Nact?"

O'Neill stopped himself just before he asked what the Hell a 'nact' was and instead replied, "No thanks. Not hungry." Okay so that was a lie.

"Maybe your beautiful wife would like some?"

Carter smiled and exchanged a look with O'Neill. O'Neill tried to hide his embarrassment. "She's not my ..."

"He's not ... We're not ..." Carter tried to finish for him, but ended up just as tongue-tied.

"Thanks anyway," O'Neill said, turning and placing a hand on Carter's arm. "Let's move on."

"Sure thing, sir."

-=-=-=-=-

Carter sat down on the bench next to O'Neill. The sun was beginning to set and they had already arranged that if they got separated during the day they would meet back here at sunset. She and the Colonel had been walking around the city all day, but had not learnt anything of value. Carter believed that it was mainly because O'Neill had been so bored and un-willing to try. He was used to fighting his way to an answer, which was very useful just not in this case. She hoped for SG-12's sake that Jonas had found out something.

He handed her the paper bag. They had ended up buying something from one of the stalls. O'Neill had hoped that because the food came in a smallish paper bag that it was the planet's equivalent of chips. He was nearly right and he was enjoying them anyway. "Thanks," she said, taking a handful of the 'chips'. She did not believe that they were made from potatoes. Maybe they were from a different, but similar kind of plant.

She had just swallowed them all when Jonas approached. "Good news?" she asked, not rising from the bench.

Jonas came to a stop, standing right in front of them both as they lazed back. "Good news," he smiled. "I think that they may have accidentally broken a law."

O'Neill sighed and rolled his eyes. "So what? They're in some kind of prison?"

"Yep."

"And we get them out, how?"

"Well, I was thinking that we could go and consult with some lawyers from both Earth and here." Jonas explained.

Before Carter or O'Neill could say anything the three of them found themselves surrounded by six large men. O'Neill and Carter immediately stood up, Jonas now standing in the middle of them. One of them wore a hat and he was the one who spoke. "Can we see your papers?" he asked.

O'Neill mouthed the word 'papers' to Jonas. Jonas shrugged. "We were not under the impression that we needed anything to be visiting this city." Jonas added 'sir' when he noticed the large man staring down at him, anger in his eyes and his huge muscles rippling.

"You don't. However one of you two gentlemen needs marriage papers for this female."

"Excuse me?" Carter asked. O'Neill winced. He understood that she had a problem when women were not treated right, but did she have to complicate things on an alien planet?

The man grabbed her hands roughly. "Hey," she said, but he did not release her hands.

"You do not wear a symbol of marriage." He stated as if that explained everything and then pulled her away from the two men by her hands.

"I don't think so," O'Neill snapped, moving slightly in front of Carter.

"Move," the man ordered.

Jonas intervened. "What's going to happen to her?"

"She will be imprisoned."

"Why?" Jonas asked, noticing that the anger was not moving from O'Neill's eyes.

"No unmarried female can be on the streets with a male. She must be imprisoned, as must any male which has taken advantage of her unmarried status." The man looked from Jonas to O'Neill, wondering which, if either, had taken advantage of her.

Jonas turned his back on the man to face O'Neill and began whispering. "I heard rumours about the jail. There are no guards, no safety, just a load of every criminal from the town. No matter what the crime or gender."

"Do either of you take responsibility for this female?" Carter struggled at the derogatory tone he used. She was not just a female or a woman. She was a person.

O'Neill nodded at Jonas and the younger man stepped aside. O'Neill glanced at Carter, her face trying to hide the discomfort of the pressure being applied to her hands. She had heard what Jonas had said and even though she knew that she could handle herself she nodded. O'Neill turned to the man, who was probably a policeman of this planet. "I am."

The policeman nodded to one of the other men standing around them and the second man came and grabbed O'Neill by the shoulders.

"Alright, I'll come peacefully," he complained. Carter and O'Neill were then led away by the six policemen. Over his shoulder O'Neill shouted back to Jonas, "Sort this out!"

"Okay, Colonel." Jonas shouted back, doubting they could hear him. Jonas then looked around him and, satisfied that there was no one else around, he headed back to the Stargate so that he could inform the general of SG-1's latest mess.

-=-=-=-=-

Sam hated this. On every planet that she went to where women were second class citizens, she always managed to end up in trouble. Whether it was because she tried to solve the women's problems or simply because she was a woman, it always went wrong. And this time could well be one of the worst. She looked around her as the heavy, iron gate clanged shut behind them. They were in caves of some sort that possibly ran under the length of the city. It was dark and dank. Sam nearly gagged as she took a deep breath.

O'Neill patted her on the back as she coughed. "Smells like my socks."

"Remind me to never go near your socks, sir." Sam's eyes had now adjusted to the light down here. There were torches dotted around the walls, she wondered who kept them alight. She peered to her left and right, trying to figure out how far the caves really went, but could see no ending, just wall where the tunnels turned.

"Seeing as we're here," O'Neill said. "I guess we should go and try and find SG-12."

"Do you really think they're here?" Sam asked.

O'Neill placed a hand on the small of her back and started them walking. "It's a possibility and the only other real idea is they're dead, so I'd like to go with this one."

Sam held her breath as she realised her Colonel's hand was on her back. "Okay," she almost squeaked. Oh my God, Sam thought, I nearly squeaked! As they headed down the right hand passageway, Sam became glad of the hand on her back. She knew why he had admitted to being responsible for her. They had been in jails before and the men were not exactly pleasant. Jonas had said that every criminal was down here. That could include everything from petty thieves to murderers and rapists. Both of them knew that Sam could handle herself, but walking into a prison on her own was a bit daunting. As they walked down passed the crowd of people, Sam could not ignore that every male was leering at her. It made her want to punch every single one of them.

The two of them could not take on the whole prison, however. They had better just keep out of trouble and stay very, very quiet. They got to a quiet spot, a slight cave off of the main passageway. There was no one in the little cave, which was probably only just about big enough for two people to stand in. O'Neill directed her into the cave via his hand still on her back. Once they were inside, he turned to her.

"You okay?" he asked and she nodded. "I thought you might need to..."

"Yeah," she agreed. "Thanks." She let out a deep breath. She was beginning to get used to the smell down here except right now she got a strong whiff of urine. Nice. "I hate the way that they all look at me. It's like in the SGC I don't look different. I don't stand out. Until I have to be in my dress blues and then I'm wearing a skirt and am in a minority. I don't like standing out because of my gender."

"No kidding," he replied sarcastically.

"How would you like it if you were imprisoned with a load of women?" she snapped.

"Ooh, can I?" He made it sound as if he would enjoy it.

"Sir, you know what I mean."

"I'm sorry, Carter," O'Neill apologised. "I know that you can look after yourself. I know that you handle any sort of weapon and kick butt. The thing is, normally you're fighting for your life, or someone else's, or for a planet. In here," he gestured around himself and she followed where he pointed. "You'd be fighting for something more than that. And no matter how much of an accomplished fighter you are, you can't take on everyone in here."

"I know," she nodded. "But that doesn't stop everyone staring at me, at me sticking out like a sore thumb."

"Well, yes, you do stand out, but normally I forget you're a woman." He was trying to cheer her up, if that was possible in here. The look on her face made him think that maybe he had not succeeded.

"Thanks," she replied, confusion in her voice. She was not sure if she liked him forgetting that she was female.

"And, we won't be down here very long and if these guys could see you fighting and being a Major then you wouldn't stick out." He was babbling slightly, he had no idea how to cheer her up. He could not get them out of here any quicker and he could not stop everyone staring at her.

"Colonel O'Neill?" a questioning voice from the main cavern said, thankfully preventing O'Neill from putting his feet any further into his mouth.

Sam and O'Neill turned and saw Lieutenant Dave Hart, from SG-12, standing there, a surprised look on his face. "Hey, Lieutenant, the rest of your team around here somewhere?" O'Neill asked.

"Yeah, we've got our own little camp kinda thing. You two here to rescue us?" Hart asked.

O'Neill and Sam exchanged glances. "Sorta. Take us to your team." O'Neill said.

"Sure." As they began walking, O'Neill questioned Hart on how SG-12 had managed to get imprisoned. "It's a bit personal, sir."

"I'll make it an order, that better for you?"

"Lieutenant Braddick began a relationship with a towns-girl. They were arrested for," Hart paused trying to decide on the correct word, "sex without marriage, basically."

"What?" O'Neill asked. "For crying out loud! This is why we don't get involved with locals."

"How did the other three of you get in here?" Sam asked, internally agreeing with Colonel O'Neill's anger.

"When Braddick was arrested, we tried to stop it and got ourselves arrested. How did you two end up in here?" He asked, before amending his question. "I mean, I figure you're here," he looked at Sam, "because you're not married to any member of your team. Colonel, why are you in here?"

"I wasn't about to let a member of my team come down here on their own." O'Neill answered as they all turned off of the main tunnel and along a darker, smellier one. There were fewer people along here and there were a few more females than males, too.

Sam fell a step behind the two men as she allowed them to continue talking. She knew full well that if Jonas or Teal'c had been sent down here, the Colonel would not have joined them. She was being treated differently to the rest of her team and she hated it. O'Neill said that he did not treat her differently, but he did. They soon found themselves with the rest of SG-12, including Lieutenant Jay Braddick, Captain John Fortman and the commanding officer Major Todd Baker. There was also a female cowering in the corner, holding hands with Braddick.

"Colonel, Major." Baker acknowledged, saluting the senior officer. Fortman saluted, too, but Braddick remained sitting in the corner.

"Major," O'Neill greeted and then stepped towards Braddick and the girl for whom he had risked everything. "Lieutenant, last time I looked I was a Colonel and therefore you should..."

"Sorry, sir," Braddick apologised, standing up. The girl stood as well, but remained hidden behind him. "Colonel, may I introduce you to Shia."

"Ma'am," O'Neill greeted kindly with a pleasant smile on his face. She peered out from behind her lover and blushed. O'Neill then turned to Braddick. "Can I see you outside?" He posed it as a question, but there was no doubt that it was an order. O'Neill took a few steps away from them and then spoke to Baker. "You too, Major."

Sam remained in the small cave with Fortman, Hart and Shia. She moved over to Shia carefully. The shy female had reclaimed her seat on the floor and Sam sat down next to her. "Hi, I'm Sam."

"You are from where Jay is from?" Shia asked and Sam nodded. "And you are here for having sex outside of your marriage, too?"

"Umm, no." Sam could feel herself begin to blush. "I don't... We're not allowed to have sex with members of our team."

"But if you did, you would be imprisoned on your home planet?"

Sam paused. "It would never happen. I was imprisoned for not being married."

Shia nodded as if she completely understood. "You probably gave the impression of being involved with that man while not being married. It is a crime on this world. You are lucky that he accepted responsibility of you, otherwise you would be down here on your own."

"Is it that bad?" Sam asked.

Shia nodded. "I have been attacked twice since we have been here and I have four strong men to protect me." The two women sat there in silence until Shia spoke again. "I am sorry."

"What for?"

"It is my fault that you are trapped here and everyone else is. They can handle themselves though. You will never be able to be on your own because other men will try and make you theirs."

"I can look after myself."

"I doubt that you can from the people down here. On this world, everyone who breaks a law is imprisoned for life. No matter what law. No matter if they are innocent. When I was a young girl, there was a man, a vile, terrible man. He attacked, forced himself upon and then horribly murdered at least twenty females and some say there may have been more. He is down here, unless natural causes or another inmate have claimed him."

Sam nodded gravely, staring at the floor. "Excuse me," she whispered, getting to her feet. She walked to the entrance of the SG camp to speak with Colonel O'Neill and get away from the harsh reality of what Shia had been saying.

-=-=-=-=-

O'Neill turned to the two men. "What exactly happened on this mission?" It was not a question. It was an order and neither man was about to dodge the question, the colonel's tone would not allow it.

Braddick started. "I met Shia, sir, and I began to develop feelings for her. I promised her that I would free her from here. Bring her home with me."

"Lieutenant, you have no authority to make that kind of promise," O'Neill warned.

Baker interjected, "Colonel, sir, I tried to dissuade Braddick and it was only when we were due to return that he brought Shia to the Gate, against my orders. As we were discussing the issue, the local police arrived. They arrested Braddick and Shia and my men and I tried to stop them."

"Why?" O'Neill asked, looking back and forth at the two men.

"We were unsure why Braddick was being arrested and, to be honest, sir, we all agreed that we could not allow her to be brought down here. Just as you refused to allow Major Carter to be imprisoned alone."

O'Neill shook his head. "Ah, no, Major, do not compare your situation to ours." O'Neill shook his head again. He could not believe that a member of the SGC had been so foolish to not only become involved with an alien, but to decide to bring her back to Earth without the permission of any senior officer. "Just count yourselves all lucky that one member of my team managed to return home. You better hope and pray that he can get us all out of here."

"Including Shia?" Braddick asked.

"Lieutenant," O'Neill warned.

"Sir, have you never grown to care for somebody when you didn't mean to? Haven't you ever experienced things just developing, no matter how hard you try and stop them?"

O'Neill knew his answer, but refused to make it real by saying it out loud. He glanced up at the entryway and saw Carter standing there. "Sir," she said quietly, indicating that she wished to speak to him. She looked like she had been spooked or that something had made her feel unpleasant.

O'Neill turned back to the two men. "We'll have to wait and see, but, Lieutenant," Braddick gave his full attention to the Colonel. "You disobeyed direct orders."

"Yes, sir," Braddick acknowledged, he knew that he was going to be in trouble when they returned to Earth. If they returned to Earth. The two men walked back into the self-declared camp, leaving O'Neill alone with Carter.

"So," she began, her voice strangely quieter then normal. "The Lieutenant really likes this girl, huh?"

"He disobeyed orders for her, so yeah or he really wants to get laid." O'Neill could see Carter's body tense when he said that and he instantly regretted it. "Sorry, Carter. Are you okay?" Even with him asking the question he knew the answer. It was written all over her face. He expected her to nod her head, lying that she was fine.

She shook her head. Not only was her voice quieter, but she was looking down at the floor an awful lot. O'Neill hated what being down here was doing to her, she had just openly admitted to not being okay. He desperately wanted to do something to make her better, to make her happy. She needed some normality. "You wanna head back to where we came in, I think that's where they feed us. Hopefully."

"Sure," she nodded and allowed him to walk slightly behind her, his hand once again gently touching her back. They could still turn and look at each other, seeing the other's face.

He could barely feel her back beneath his hand, but he knew that everyone around them could see it and that was all that was needed, as long as everyone else could see that she was with him it did not matter. He was not proud of having to treat her like this, but it was the only way to keep her safe. He would treat anyone the same in this situation, he tried to reassure himself. "Any idea if there's some way to escape?" he asked, partly to see if they could come up with a plan and partly to make idle conversation.

"I haven't really looked to see what's behind these cave walls. I mean, theoretically if they're just stone and rock we could dig our way out."

"I can smell a but."

"But," she smiled at him. It warmed him to see her smile and talk normally again. "Other prisoners have been in here years and, apparently, no one has ever escaped before. Plus, I have to think that if you were the leader of this planet or city and you imprisoned absolutely everyone, you're not going to allow escape. They must have some way of preventing it."

O'Neill nodded. "You're probably right. We could give it a try though, right?"

Carter smiled again. "Of course, sir."

Out of nowhere there was a man standing in front of them, looking Carter up and down in a way that made O'Neill want to kill him with his bare hands. O'Neill was sensing a primal need to protect Carter and it scared him that he could be that over-protective of a woman that was not his. O'Neill and Carter came to a stop, O'Neill moved his free hand to Carter's arm and gently pushed her back behind him so that he was standing in between her and the stranger. The man was slightly taller than O'Neill, maybe an inch or two. He was larger in size, as well. His extra body mass was a mixture of fat and muscle, but O'Neill figured that he could take the criminal easily. O'Neill looked the criminal in the eye, not batting an eyelid. He was not afraid of this piece of scum.

"Can we help you?" O'Neill asked and regretted it when the man spoke and he got a whiff of the scum's breath. What else was the scum hiding behind his long, sandy grey, unkept beard?

"I want this woman." Scum stated it so simply as if it was a reasonable request.

"Umm, no." O'Neill made sure that his hands were free from Carter so that he could be ready for whatever Scum threw at him.

"Sir." O'Neill glanced at Carter quickly, her arm on his to alert him to the growing crowd. They were getting ready for a fight, O'Neill knew. It was likely that some of them would then try their luck with Carter. Quickly scanning the crowd, O'Neill did not think that there was anyone there that Carter could not hold her own against. Okay, he decided, he could fight Scum safe in the knowledge that Carter would be all right with all of the wannabes. And anyway, O'Neill hoped that the inevitable fight with Scum would be over quickly.

O'Neill turned back to Scum. "You gonna move now?" There was no doubt in O'Neill's mind that his voice was intimidating, along with his stance. If he were Scum, he would be backing off. It appeared that Scum was not that clever to know that, however.

"You are the whore's master but are unwilling to sell her to me."

O'Neill's mind saw red. His brain switched off and he punched Scum. Scum did not collapse from the first punch and O'Neill was glad. He no longer wanted a fast fight with Scum. Scum deserved to pay after calling Carter what he had. Scum threw a fist at O'Neill and the colonel easily ducked. Scum regained his balance quickly and went straight in for a second punch. O'Neill blocked Scum's right hand with his own left arm and then punched Scum in the stomach. Grabbing hold of Scum's arm, O'Neill twisted it around his back causing Scum to emit a pained sound. O'Neill then kicked down sharply on Scum's leg, dropping the larger man to his knees. O'Neill proceeded to kick Scum in the back until he collapsed on the floor, unconscious.

Out of breath, O'Neill glanced up to locate Carter. She was standing, where he had left her or maybe a few steps back, perfectly fine. She did not seem appalled at the violence he had just committed and nor did she seem overtly afraid of their situation. O'Neill kicked the fallen Scum once on his side and then held out his hand to Carter. She took it, putting her left hand into his right and stepping closer to him. O'Neill looked around at the crowd that was still watching, waiting for him to kill Scum. As much as O'Neill wanted to, he was not a killer like that. Instead he sent a message to everyone that had gathered. He used his large and powerful voice that he had learnt from his own Colonel when he had been a lieutenant, the voice that made other lieutenants cower in fear.

"This woman," he indicated Carter, "is under my protection. No one will go near her, look at her, lay a finger on her or speak to her. She is not for sale. She is not for anyone else to take." Once he was finished he turned to Carter. "You okay?"

She nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Try calling me colonel so that no one else gets the idea that I own you."

She returned his small smile and followed him as they continued on their way to where they hoped they could get some food. They made their way through the crowd with ease. No one even looked at Carter, everyone that they passed bowed their heads so that they could not anger O'Neill. It was only after they were past the crowd and were back to people just standing around, trying to occupy their time that O'Neill realised he was still holding Carter's hand. Some groups of men were talking, others arguing and at least one fight broke out as they passed. O'Neill was unsure of what to do. Did Carter like holding his hand? Was it a comfort for her that she would never in a million years admit to and therefore by pointing it out she would lose that comfort?

His questions were answered for him when something, or someone, crashed into them, splitting their joined hands. O'Neill went crashing to the floor with whatever had crashed into them, while Carter remained standing on her feet.

"Colonel?" she questioned, ensuring that he was all right.

O'Neill nodded, helping the person that was lying on top of him off and then standing up. Once he had helped the person up, O'Neill brushed himself off. Not that it mattered, his clothes were already filthy. Carter came to stand next to O'Neill and they both studied the young female standing in front of them. She could not be more than a young teenager, if she had even reached adolescence yet. Her clothes were ripped and dirty, as if she had been living down here for years. Her jet black long hair was matted and wild, while her exposed skin was as filthy as her clothes. Her blue eyes shone brightly even in the dark and they stood out from the rest of her body.

"Hi," O'Neill said and the girl cowered further into the wall, trying to get away from him. She was petrified of him. Colonel O'Neill turned to Carter and she nodded.

Carter took a step toward the scared girl, slightly blocking O'Neill's view of her. He presumed that this had been intentional, if the girl could not see him she could not be afraid of him. "Hello," Carter spoke gently, calmly. "My name's Sam. Are you okay?"

The girl still had fear in her eyes, O'Neill could see that from here and he soon realised why when there was a large, loud shout from behind them all. O'Neill turned as a man continued shouting, repeating one word over and over: Ashlinke.

"Colonel," Carter whispered and O'Neill turned to her and the girl. The girl was sitting on the floor again, attempting to hide her face in the rock wall behind her. He nodded at Carter and she moved closer to the girl, presumably Ashlinke. O'Neill then turned to the man who was looking for her.

-=-=-=-=-

Carter bent down near to Ashlinke and put a comforting hand on the youngster's shoulder. Ashlinke looked at Carter through her hair and smiled very slightly when Carter smiled, showing that she would protect her. Carter then looked up at O'Neill and the man, waiting in anticipation of what was going to happen next. The man spotted Ashlinke and tried to move toward her, but O'Neill stepped in front of him. Carter could feel Ashlinke tense through the hand that was still on the girl's shoulder. The man was shorter than O'Neill and a lot more round in shape. He would be no threat to O'Neill, Carter did not even doubt that she could take him.

"Let me past!" the man commanded.

O'Neill exhaled slowly and loudly. "I don't think so."

"That is my daughter!" the man spat. "She belongs to me. Hand her over."

"Doesn't she have a choice?" O'Neill asked. "Carter?"

Carter turned to Ashlinke. "Do you want to go with your Father?" Ashlinke shook her head furiously, tears springing into her vibrant blue eyes. "No, Colonel."

"See," O'Neill said to the dad. "She doesn't want to go with you. She seems scared of you and I'm not going to force her to go with you."

"She is not yours!"

"I know," O'Neill nodded. "She isn't anyone's. Leave."

Carter knew that it was ridiculous, but fear started to build within her belly. Ashlinke's father was harmless to both O'Neill and herself, but she was afraid of another fight starting. Normally she did not get afraid before or during a fight, normally her training kicked in and she worked on skill and adrenaline. Everything was so different down here. She felt different. When O'Neill had taken her hand earlier she had not wanted him to take it back. She had felt safer with her hand in his whereas normally she would have felt so weak, undermined.

"I need my child!" the portly man shouted, his face going deep red in frustration.

"Why?" O'Neill asked, taking a step towards the man. Carter could see Ashlinke's Dad getting ready for a fight. He seemed willing to do anything to get his child back, but it seemed doubtful to be for fatherly love.

"She is my safety. Other men may have her and I am allowed to live."

Carter was appalled at the images that came into her mind. She had not thought that her opinion of down here could get worse, but it just had. Carter saw O'Neill clench and un-clench his right fist down by his side. He was just as sickened as she. She knew what was about to happen. It was as obvious as day follows night. O'Neill's temper flared once more and he punched the man in the face. This guy was nowhere near as tough as the one from earlier and he hit the floor straight away. Carter then watched as O'Neill restrained himself and left the man alone.

"She's not yours anymore," he growled and took two steps backwards so that he was level with Carter and Ashlinke. He looked down at Carter. "Think you can get her to come with us?"

Carter nodded and while she turned to Ashlinke, O'Neill turned back to watching her father. "Hey, do you want to come with us?" Ashlinke nodded and allowed Carter to help her to her feet, Carter took Ashlinke's hand and they both walked alongside O'Neill, Ashlinke in the middle. It seemed that she was still afraid of O'Neill, but Ashlinke was more afraid of all the other men. They abandoned their search for food, instead deciding that their makeshift camp was the safest place for Ashlinke.

-=-=-=-=-

Baker and Fortman had gone to get food once O'Neill, Carter and Ashlinke had returned to camp. They were now all sitting down and eating the food that had been retrieved from guards by the main gate. It was the only contact with the outside world and the only time that guards were seen except for delivery of new inmates. The guards appeared, left the food and then left. When a large number of prisoners were admitted, the food left was increased, but the guards thought that death of prisoners was roughly equal to the new prisoners each day. The meal was eaten in silence by everyone, it was only after the meal that conversations began. Fortman chose to sit outside of the camp on his own. O'Neill knew that the Captain had a wife and two kids back on Earth and that he was probably missing them more than the rest of them missed home put together.

Braddick had retreated to Shia's corner to talk to her. She still did not seem comfortable with everyone, especially the men. O'Neill had not said two words to her since earlier. Baker and Hart were playing cards in the lightest part of their private little cave and Carter was attempting to have a conversation with Ashlinke. O'Neill had the choice of cards or conversation with a teenage girl who had only ever been used by men. He chose to play cards.

Half way through the first game, Braddick came over and seated himself inbetween Hart and O'Neill. As he sat O'Neill glanced over at Shia and saw that she had gone to talk to the other two women. As if reading O'Neill's mind Braddick spoke.

"I managed to persuade her that she should talk to other people than me. She feels safe with all of us, but thinks she has nothing in common with any of the men. Except me."

"Of course," O'Neill nodded. He was watching Carter. Ashlinke had now settled down onto the floor to sleep. The young girl was positioned up against the wall and had a deathly tight grip on Carter's arm. The girl was still petrified of all of the men in here. She was probably afraid that in the middle of the night any one of them would... O'Neill refused to think anymore on that, instead he looked at Carter. Even though one of the Major's arms was trapped under Ashlinke's hand, the other was gently stroking the girl's head. Carter always had been good with kids, O'Neill had first noticed it six years ago when Cassandra had been found. Carter bonded well with children. O'Neill had no doubt in his mind that Carter would make a wonderful mother.

He shook his head, trying to shake the thoughts from his head.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one to pick up strays, Colonel." Braddick was saying.

"What?"

"The girl. If we get out of here, we have to take her with us. Back to Earth probably."

"Ash is nothing like Shia," O'Neill objected. "She actually needs our help. Shia was perfectly happy living her life. She has to return with us now because you got her arrested." O'Neill did not like the Lieutenant's attitude. He just kept on disobeying his orders and talking to senior officers in a way that O'Neill did not like. Throwing his cards onto the floor, O'Neill stood up and headed outside of the cave to where Fortman was.

-=-=-=-=-

Sam was talking to Ashlinke after their meal and trying to get to know her. It was hard trying to have a conversation with the scared young girl, but Sam was beginning to get through to her.

"So, how old are you, Ashlinke?" Sam asked.

Ashlinke was huddled against the wall, still looking at the other men in the area with fear. She seemed to be a little more accepting of Colonel O'Neill, Sam had noted, but she was probably still afraid of being abused later on. "Thirteen years."

"You're thirteen?" Sam repeated. "How long have you been down here?" Sam asked, intrigued as to what Ash had done to be imprisoned down here. Maybe she had stolen a piece of fruit from a stall and been thrown down here for everyone else's pleasure.

"Thirteen years." Ash was still nibbling on a piece of bread from their dinner. She seemed to hide and store food. Her father had probably never fed her properly, she was awfully thin.

"You've been here all your life?" Sam questioned.

Ash nodded, but did not say anything more. She had finished her piece of bread and was now settling down on the floor. She cuddled up next to Sam's arm, holding it slightly as if it were a security blanket. To aid the girl's sleep, Sam started stroking her hair even if it did feel terrible to the touch. No sooner had Ash fallen straight asleep than Shia had sat herself down next to Sam.

"Greetings, Major Carter." Shia smiled sweetly and Sam returned the gesture.

"Call me Sam, if you want."

"Okay, Sam," Shia said, testing the word in her mouth. "Ashlinke has been here her entire life, hasn't she?"

Sam nodded. "How did you know that?"

"Her mother was probably sent here and taken by a man. The man who claimed himself to be Ashlinke's father is likely not to be her real father. She probably does not know her parents. Her mother more than likely was continued to be taken by men and died at the hands of a man. Ashlinke would have been fending for herself since then."

"She wasn't doing a very good job. The man looking after her was hiring her out for his own protection. That isn't very good fending where I'm from."

"It is down here. She has survived here for... For, what thirteen, fourteen years?"

"Thirteen." Sam nodded, beginning to see Shia's point.

"And she is still alive. There is probably no family for her down here or up there."

Sam nodded just as Ashlinke rolled over, facing the wall and releasing her arm. Sam excused herself and stood up, moving over to O'Neill outside of the camp. Fortman saw her approaching and disappeared into the camp as Sam sat down next to O'Neill. They were both leaning against the outer wall of the camp. O'Neill's legs were outstretched, bending his knees too much caused pain for his troubled knee. Sam hugged her knees up to her chest, trying to retract into a ball and hide from everything down here.

"Having fun yet?" he asked sarcastically.

"No. Looks like if we do get out of here we're going to have to take Ashlinke with us."

"Shia, too."

"What's the problem with that?" Sam asked, having noted O'Neill's aggravated tone.

"Braddick shouldn't have got involved."

"Haven't you ever got involved with somebody off-world before, Colonel? I mean, Teal'c has, Daniel sure did, Jonas will at some point and you and I have."

"Yes, I have, but it was a special case and it doesn't happen often. Plus, I never wanted to bring them home with me and it never happened at the expense of my career. I'd never risk someone's career."

"Isn't that the problem?" Sam asked. "Careers and not taking risks." She had not meant it to sound harsh, but that was how it had come out.

"Sorry, Carter, I didn't mean--"

Sam cut him off. "Forget it. It's okay." Part of her meant it. She knew that things would never be simple for the pair of them. She thought back to earlier when he had taken her hand. As Major Carter she would never have accepted his hand and held it like a child or lover. As Sam, a prisoner where there was no safety or rules, she had gladly accepted his hand as security. She could not explain what had happened in her short time down here. She had forgotten her training and her status. She was afraid when men approached her, scared that a fight would break out or that she might get hurt. She wondered where Major Carter had gone.

The two of them remained sitting there in silence, their arms touching. Occasionally a scream or shouting could be heard from somewhere distant and other times the shouting seemed to be close by. Sam subconsciously tensed every time there was a louder noise than the normal level of sound and she nearly jumped out of her skin when Baker appeared next to them.

"Everyone else is gonna try and get some sleep," he informed them.

"Do you normally keep someone on watch?" O'Neill asked, getting to his feet and then holding out a hand to Sam.

Sam refused the hand and stood up on her own. Maybe there was some of Major Carter creeping back into her. "No," Baker replied. "Shia hides away in the corner and she's the most vulnerable. I only half sleep at best. The noises that you can hear in this place."

"Excuse me," Sam said, pushing past Baker. She did not need to think about anything worse than what had happened today. Ashlinke was still curled up where Sam had left her and Shia and Braddick were next to her. Braddick was sitting up, leaning against the stone and Shia's head was resting in his lap. Fortman and Hart were closest to the entrance and Sam stepped over them to get to the only available free wall remaining. There was not enough room for anyone else to lie down, especially considering that the Colonel and Major still had to get in here.

As soon as Sam was sitting, the two final men entered. O'Neill had a scowl on his face and Baker looked as if he had just been reprimanded over something. O'Neill made his way over and sat down next to Sam, their positions identical to just a moment ago when they had been sitting outside.

"You okay?" O'Neill whispered and no one looked over so they had probably not heard him.

"Sure," she replied. She had not even convinced herself of that. They heard a loud, piercing scream from off in the distance and Sam flinched. "Maybe not."

O'Neill placed a hand on her knee and she knew that she was safe in here. No matter what happened no one would hear her scream like that. Without thinking about it Sam leant her head against O'Neill's shoulder. Just as Sam closed her eyes to try and sleep she noticed Baker looking at them both. She knew that not many Majors slept with their heads on their Colonels' shoulders, but she also knew that the action had not arisen from her fear. They had rested like this before and none of their team had ever batted an eyelid, Baker had though.

-=-=-=-=-

Jack awoke to find a blonde head still resting on his shoulder. He always liked the mornings when he awoke like this. They did not happen often. The first time had been in the power station when they had been given false memories and 'Jonah' and 'Thera' had developed a relationship beyond that which 'Carter' and 'O'Neill' could. There had been times since then that they had slept like this, normally when they were imprisoned somewhere. Jack looked around the cave at the others. Ashlinke was still fast asleep, or she was just cowering in the corner. It was hard to tell which. It was probably the first night when she had slept on her own for the entire night. Fortman and Baker were not present and Hart was playing a game of cards on his own by the entrance. Shia and Braddick were awake and talking quietly in the corner. As Jack watched them his attitude towards Braddick began to soften. The two of them were clearly in love and Braddick was young. Being young and in love was a dangerous combination.

The again, being any age and in love was dangerous.

Carter's head moved slightly on his shoulder and she sat up, stretching out her shoulders slightly. "Morning, sir," she greeted.

"Morning, Carter." He got to his feet, stretching his legs out. "Good night's sleep?" he asked.

"Surprisingly, yes."

"Breakfast's here!" Jack looked up and saw Fortman and Baker standing in the entrance with their morning rations in their hands. They were not fed much at each meal time and there were four meals a day. Not that there was any difference in the food at each meal. Some bread-like food, some fruit-like food and then a thick, viscous liquid of some sort, a bit like gruel. It was hardly anything to look forward to.

If Ashlinke had been asleep, she was awake now and she looked eagerly up at the food. Baker and Fortman placed their food down on the floor and everyone picked up their share, Ashlinke got there first. She sure was a hungry, growing girl. They all sat there in silence eating their breakfast. After the meal was finished, everyone resumed their boring sitting around.

"Umm," Jack spoke, "where do we go to the toilet?" he asked.

Baker stood up and said, "Come on, I'll show you."

Jack followed the major down to a small cave that had a partitioning wall, which prevented anyone seeing you but ensured relative safety as there was only one way in. "If one of the women wants to go one of us should go with them," Baker explained as Jack went behind the partition. "It's quite safe, really. They go around there and we stand here. That way no-one can get to them unless they get through us."

"Right," Jack's voice echoed. He had spoken to Baker the previous night about certain comments around Carter. Baker saw Carter as a Major, whereas Jack, on this mission, was seeing her as Sam – a female. Jack was still confused by his attitude towards Carter at the moment. All he could think was that it was some primal sort of thing, protecting the weakest. Not that she was weak, just weaker than some of the murderous, evil scum out there.

"Colonel, may I speak freely, sir?" Baker asked.

"Sure, if Jonas doesn't find a way to get us out of here you may as well just start calling me Jack."

"I'm ... concerned about you and Major Carter."

"What?" Jack asked, joining Baker and looking him square in the eye. "Explain yourself, Major."

"You seem overly-protective of her, sir, and your sleeping arrangements last night."

"I get it, Major." Jack scowled. "SG-1 are a close team and it's not nice for her down here. I'm slightly more aware of her right now and want to protect her like I'd protect any member of my team or SG unit. Do you know what it's like for her down here? You and I can go off on our own. Sure, some people stare, look us up and down see if they can take us. Everyone looks at her, thinking how they'd love to do her and that's when she's with one of us. I will do anything to prevent her from fearing anything while down here. If that means that I treat her differently than normal until we get out of this Hellhole, so be it. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." Baker nodded.

"Good. Now let's see if there's any hope for us digging our way out of here, shall we?" Jack did not wait for an answer, he walked off knowing that Baker was right behind him.

-=-=-=-=-

By the time that Jack and Sam's third day of imprisonment was nearly over nothing much had changed. They were dirtier – their skin, hair and clothing. As a group, they had been attempting to dig their way upwards, in the hope that they could escape. There was the possibility that they were too deep to ever make it to the surface and that there might, at some point, be a layer of thick concrete which would more than hinder their progress. They were all exhausted and fed up. Their progress had been minimal to say the least. There had not been trouble with the other inmates, the group tried to keep themselves to themselves. There was the occasional hassle when any of the females left the cave, which was only to go to the toilet. Sam occasionally went on walks with Jack or Fortman, merely because she needed a break from everyone else. Sam and Fortman were beginning to bond. He missed his family back at home and was beginning to give up hope of ever seeing them again.

Ashlinke was making progress and had become more trusting of the males, Jack and Braddick anyway. She was still very unsure of Baker, but as long as Jack, Sam, Shia or Braddick were around, Ashlinke remained calm. She had even allowed herself to leave the cave with only Jack. Jack, personally, was beginning to like Ashlinke. He always bonded well with children, as did Sam. Sam had remarked on one of their walks that she would like to keep in contact with Ashlinke when they got home. Jack had startled her by admitting that his faith in Jonas was starting to falter. Sam had reminded him that they had been imprisoned for longer periods than this, with more beatings than here and at least there were no evil Goa'uld here.

Sam wanted to get clean. She could not give up hope that Jonas would find a way to free them – she needed to cling onto the hope of one day being clean again. She was not a girlie-girl who loved make-up, doing her hair and fancy nails – fixing motorcycles always put paid to long nails – even so, Sam liked being clean. All she wanted was to soak in a long, hot, foamy bath for maybe a few days, until all the grime had washed away. She wanted real food, too. A huge slice of pizza would be the ultimate right now. Finished off with a bowl of blue jello and Sam would be in heaven.

Glancing around her, Sam realised that everyone else was settling down for the night. They spent every night in the same arrangement as their first night. Shia and Braddick were intimate in some way and protected Ashlinke nearby. Sam and Jack then slept on the other side of Ashlinke, Sam's head on Jack's shoulder. She could only ever admit it to herself but she was beginning to get used to sleeping so closely to him. This sort of closeness had only ever occurred a few times before and now Sam was worried that she would feel lost waking up without him beside her. She had to get over it though, nothing could ever change between them. Not in their current lives, anyway.

"Hey," Sam spoke out loud getting everyone's attention. "Before everyone gets sleeping, someone want to take me to the toilet?" She hated having to ask someone's permission to simply go to the toilet. It made her feel as if she was nothing, as if she truly were seen by the guys as a second class citizen. Her rational mind screamed that it was not true, but she felt so undermined and weak. She was a major in the US Air Force and had to ask officers junior to her for their help, their protection. What did she expect when she was not acting like a major, but like a vulnerable, timid mouse?

"Sure," Fortman answered. Sam was glad that it had been him that answered. She did not like being around Baker. She had never really liked Baker. It was the way he had always laughed about Daniel, and now Jonas, in the bar that the SGC personnel frequented. Baker also seemed to fit in with the other men down here, he probably thought that Sam had got to major by sleeping with her commanding officers. She had never done that before, even if she had considered it with her present commander.

Fortman stood and followed Sam closely to the 'toilet'. It was not the nicest place in this prison, but at least everyone's excrement was confined to the one place. Sam made her way around the corner to where everyone did their business and she held her nose as the stench of urine and rotting faeces bombarded her. Fortman remained outside, guarding her. Sam thought that maybe the situation would be better if she were able to then guard Fortman, but she would not last long out there on her own, no matter how highly trained she was.

Just as Sam was re-arranging her long, this-planet's-fashion skirt she heard a grunt and a shout before a large cracking sound. She froze in fear as she called out to Fortman and got no reply. She knew that if she stayed where she was then whoever had happened to Fortman would just corner her in here, at least if she tried to get out she might make it and could then stand a chance. Mustering up a confidence that was usually innate to her, Sam moved around the corner and came face to face with a large, muscular, half naked man. His face had a large scar down the left cheek, matched by the even larger one that ran across his chest. His head was bald and his right earlobe was missing. There was a black mark in the center of his chest like a tattoo, it was a strange symbol that would probably have fascinated Jonas to no end.

Sam looked past tattoo guy and saw Fortman lying on the floor, blood dripping down his unconscious body.

"No one here to protect you now," tattoo guy snarled. Sam looked back at him, fear on her face and a pleased smile on his. "You're all mine."

He took a step toward her and Sam could not help but scream in protest as his hands clasped around her arms. She could not remember a time when she had screamed. She had shouted for help before, but never screamed like a helpless girl. Tattoo guy roughly pinned her arms and shoulders to the cool rock behind her, a jagged edge sticking into her back. As he looked her up and down, a satisfied look in his eye, Sam became paralysed in fear.

"I've waited three days to get you alone, to make you mine, to do whatever I want with you."

Sam's mind was racing, thinking of all the combat training that she knew. She could fight off this one man, Sam knew that she could, but just like the past three days her military mind had taken a backseat to her femininity. She could not breathe, she was terrified.

"I'm gonna make you scream a whole lot more before I'm through," he promised.

"There's not a chance in hell."

Tattoo guy turned, releasing his pressure on Sam slightly and both he and Sam looked to see Jack standing there, next to the fallen Fortman. "You are the one who previously owned her. Normally I would offer a good bargain to return her to you, but not this one. I want her and I have her now."

"Maybe you didn't hear me, I said not gonna happen." Jack stepped toward tattoo guy, crowding the three of them into a small space further. "Let her go," he commanded through gritted teeth.

Tattoo guy snarled at Jack and then pushed Sam forcefully against the wall. She winced in pain and slid down the wall slightly once he released her. The jagged rock had cut into her skin slightly at his action and she could feel a red hot searing pain emanating from her entire back. She sat there helpless as she watched Jack fighting tattoo guy. Her vision was slightly blurry and she was not sure what was going on, but she could distinguish between the two bodies. Regaining control of her breathing and paralysis lifting, Sam crawled forward to where Fortman lay. Jack and tattoo guy were fighting in the main cavern now, having left the toilet. Sam felt for a pulse at Fortman's throat and was relieved to find one. He was a good soldier, a good man and had become Sam's friend over the past three days. She was thankful that he was still alive.

Sam looked back up at the fight when she heard a groan and recognised it as Jack's voice. She looked up, her double vision now back to single. Jack was holding his arm and there was blood pouring from it.

Tattoo guy laughed. "Now I can kill you and take your woman!"

Anger ripped through Sam and she stood up. "I am not his woman or yours!" she shouted. Tattoo guy turned, shocked at her speaking to him like that and with such hatred in her voice. "You will not do anything to me," she promised. He smiled at this as if he found her statement amusing. He made a slight movement towards her and Sam did not hesitate. She ducked out of his reach as he reached for her and then kicked him solidly in the stomach. He bent over double, groaning in pain. "Betcha never had a woman fight back like that before, have you?" She brought her knee up swiftly, catching him in the face and he stumbled backwards. Blood was pouring from his nose, but Sam did not allow him any recovery. She followed him where he had stepped back and landed a punch on his chin. Without pausing she kicked his kneecap, sending him to his knees. "I am not some whimpering, weak-assed female that you can do what you want with!" she shouted, pummelling him with her feet. Sam then kicked his torso with such force that tattoo guy fell back, cracking his head on the stony wall.

Sam took a deep breath, steadying herself both from the violence that she had just performed and from the awakening in her mind. She was still Major Carter, trained and able.

"Carter?" Jack said. Sam turned to see her friend getting to his feet and coming to stand next to her. "Are you okay?" he asked. She knew what he meant. He wanted to know if she had been hurt before he had got there. He needed to know that he had got there in time. He also meant okay now, because she had not been fine since they had got here.

"I'm fine. He didn't really touch me. I might have hurt my back a bit." Now that the adrenaline was decreasing, the pain was creeping back into her back.

"Are you sure?" he asked, gently moving a hand to her cheek. He forced her to look him in the eye, preventing her from lying.

She nodded and then did something that the adrenaline rush caused her to. She moved her head closer to his and caught his lips in a kiss. She had caught him slightly off guard, she knew that, but he did not take long to respond. As he deepened the kiss, Jack gently brought her closer to his body, being careful not to touch her back. She willingly came to him, pressing her body up against his. She gladly parted her lips, allowing his tongue entrance. She wrapped her arms around his neck before trailing her hands down his shoulders and arms.

Suddenly he winced and pulled away, cursing at something. "Look at me?" he said in a pained voice. "I come to your rescue and I end up getting stabbed in the arm."

"Fortman," Sam remembered, abandoning the colonel for their fallen colleague. "He's still unconscious. We should get him back to the others. They might be able to fix the both of you up." Sam got one of Fortman's arms over her shoulder, wincing as she bent down. She looked up at Jack, "Can you help at all?"

"Sure," he nodded. "Just not on my left side."   
  
Together they managed to get Fortman back to the camp where the other officers saw to him. Shia bandaged Jack's arm first before cleaning Sam's arm with the little water they had and then wrapping some cloth around her entire torso. Sterilisation was impossible so Sam knew that the probability of infection would be great. She hoped Jonas came up with something soon or the three of them could die from an infection.

At least she felt stronger now.

-=-=-=-=-

Despite their combined pain, everyone slept through the night. Jack slept a little better than he had previously, the pain in his arm knocking him out after a while. It was the following morning and everyone had woken up slowly. Fortman was conscious and had awoken just after Jack and Sam had. Baker and Hart had gone to get breakfast and Shia and Braddick were off somewhere. Ashlinke was sitting next to Fortman, talking with him. Ashlinke did not say much during a conversation, she mainly answered questions. Fortman was probably telling the young girl about his own daughter, Jack thought. Jack and Sam were sitting next to each other in silence. They had not discussed anything about the day before – not Sam's change into being a fighter again and not their kiss.

"How did you know we needed help?" Sam asked, her voice coming from out of the blue.

"You were taking a while," Jack answered. "Figured something might have happened."

"Not over-protective or anything?" He looked at her and saw her grinning at him.

He returned the smile briefly. "I have been doing that a bit recently."

"I deserved it," she replied. He studied her, but she refused to meet his gaze. "I know I've been acting strangely since we've been down here. I guess I resigned myself to my fate. The fate that I'd be attacked, raped or beaten down here. And then I started acting like it had happened already, when it hadn't."

"I'm guilty of it, too."

"But you were just trying to protect me. I was acting like an idiot. Everything made me feel so undignified, though. I don't know what happened to me, but I feel better. If I didn't have this stabbing pain in my back, anyway."

He laughed slightly at her comment and then they both fell silent. They remained in silence for a while until Jack whispered, "I'm glad that you're back." And he was. He liked the idea of having to protect her, but that was not Samantha Carter.

-=-=-=-=-

Jonas Quinn with Teal'c following closely behind him entered the Chancellor's office. The Chancellor of P7R was the head of the legal system, controlling the planet fully. Luckily, he was based in the city that had taken O'Neill and Sam captive and they could get this all over and done with quicker. General Hammond had granted permission for Teal'c to join Jonas this time in case the Chancellor objected to their being there. Jonas had been searching through information on the planet, trying to see if he could find a loophole to get his friends out of the prison. He had an infallible idea on how to get O'Neill and Sam out, it was the other SG team that might prove a problem. Jonas knew all about the human legal system and over the past few days he had come to know just as much about P7R's.

The guard outside the Chancellor's office closed the door once Teal'c and Jonas were in the room and they moved to stand in front of the large dark wooden desk. The Chancellor was an ageing man, sitting in a large chair. He had white hair, a white beard and when he spoke his voice sounded gruff.

"What is that you want? Have your people not caused enough trouble for me and my people?"

Jonas had agreed with Hammond that they should not launch an all out attack on P7R. It was not the planet's fault that laws had been broken and Jonas did not want the guilt of releasing everyone from the prison on his mind. He hoped the Chancellor would cooperate with him. "We are here to plead for our peoples' lives." Jonas answered.

The Chancellor chortled and then coughed violently. When he had calmed down he stood and leaned on his desk slightly. "There is no negotiation for them."

Hammond had given his permission that the female who had got involved with Braddick would have to be freed too. They could not in good conscience leave the female in the prison, it was too horrible a thought. "I believe that you have no reason to keep Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter imprisoned."

"The unmarried female and the male who took responsibility?" the Chancellor asked.

Jonas nodded. "They lied to you." He took a step towards the desk and placed some papers down on the table. "These are legal documents from our home, showing that the Colonel and the Major are in fact married."

The Chancellor looked over the marriage papers. "To each other?" he queried.

"Yes," Jonas nodded. He had discovered that if Sam had been married and her husband had not been present, she would still be imprisoned so she would have to be married to O'Neill. The papers were fake, of course, but the Chancellor would never know that. He would never know that they were written yesterday with a back date of a few months.

"And when did this marriage occur?" the Chancellor asked. "I do not understand these papers and they could have been written just a moment ago."

"The marriage was performed three of our months ago, that's eighty-four days ago. It was a lovely little ceremony, both myself and my friend were present. The bride looked lovely in her gown." Jonas hoped that he had sounded believable.

The Chancellor nodded his head in thought as he examined the papers closely. "I have one question for you, why did the female lie when questioned by my officers?"

Jonas had been waiting for that one. No one could ever say that Jonas was not prepared. Sam often described him as a boy-scout. He hoped that it was a good thing. "By our planet's laws, she is not allowed to be married and still work so she denies her marriage. When your officers questioned her, she answered as she is forced to at home."

"And if I chose to not believe you or honour these papers?"

Teal'c stepped forward, his pose as intimidating as ever. "You will believe us," he stated.

The Chancellor nodded. "I can arrange for their freedom, but theirs alone. It may take a few hours to find them, the prison is vast and the prisoners many. I will see that they are brought to the main chambers outside as soon as they are released. Good day."

Jonas smiled a thank you and left the room, followed by Teal'c. Once they were back in their waiting area, the large fantastic main chamber of the Offices, Jonas turned to Teal'c, a huge smile on the man's face. "I got them out. See, I knew that I could."

"You still have the four members of SG-12 to free, Jonas Quinn." Teal'c reminded him.

Jonas sat down on a bench with a thump. He sighed, he still had no idea how to get them out. From what he had learned, Braddick had knowingly broken a law and the others had when they had started a fight to try and free him. Jonas had searched everything in the legal libraries of this planet and of Earth's – there was nothing to help him. He was at a loss for an idea.

-=-=-=-=-

"You took your time, didn't you?" O'Neill shouted as he entered the large, clean lit room. He did not really take any of his surroundings in, all he knew was that it smelled fresh and the oxygen here was a lot nicer than that which he had breathed for the past five days.

"Hello, Colonel," Jonas greeted. "Sorry that we didn't get you out sooner, we had to find an excuse for it."

"Well, whatever you did, thank you!" He looked as if he could kiss the young Kewlonian. "Now, before you tell me the brilliant plan for SG-12 and Shia, tell me you've got clean clothes for me."

"Of course we have, Colonel." Jonas replied, handing a bag to each of the two officers. "Clean clothes for both of you and some washing gear. There are toilets just down there," Jonas explained, receiving huge smiles from the pair of dirty, tired, bedraggled humans. "Umm, as for SG-12..."

"What?" O'Neill asked. The Kewlonian just had to ruin his mood, didn't he?

"Don't have a plan for them yet."

O'Neill swallowed the anger that was about to erupt. "Okay. Well I'm gonna get clean and then we'll sort it out. Sound good to you, Carter?"

"Yes, sir, it sounds heavenly." O'Neill and Carter began to walk off when she turned back around and asked, "Just how did you get us out?"

Jonas looked at Teal'c and shook his head, forcing Teal'c to answer. "We arranged for the two of you to be married."

This made O'Neill stop and turn. Both USAF officers stared in shock at the two aliens. "What?"

Jonas looked at the colonel with a hint of fear in his eyes. "It was the only way to free you, Colonel. We arranged for some marriage papers to be drawn up. Congratulations."

O'Neill turned to Carter and they exchanged looks, she smiled awkwardly. "Are we really...?" he asked.

"No, sir, we can't really be ... if we didn't sign anything."

O'Neill nodded gratefully and walked off leaving Carter standing there for a brief moment before she followed, both entering different toilets.

-=-=-=-=-

Sam took in a deep breath, she finally felt clean. All there was in the toilets was a sink but she had used it to her full advantage and there was no grime or dirt left anywhere on her. She looked in the mirror, her hair was wet and brushed and she was dressed in the standard mission uniform. She felt normal again. She felt human again. As she left the toilet she took in another deep breath. She could not describe how wonderful it was to smell fresh air and the hint of a familiar aftershave. She turned to her left and saw Colonel O'Neill standing there. She smiled a greeting and knew that he too was enjoying smelling the clean air, and probably her. When they had first been imprisoned, O'Neill had still smelt of his normal aftershave but it had soon worn off to be replaced by his natural body odour. She recognised that smell as O'Neill, too – they had shared many times in prisons together before. After a while his body odour had become intermingled with dirt and human waste, something that Sam did not recognise as O'Neill.

"Feel better?" he asked.

"Much, thank you, sir. I feel like me again. You?"

"I've never loved Jonas so much before," he grinned.

Sam smiled back at him. They had both smiled while in the prison but never really meaning it, they did now. "We just have to figure out how to get SG-12 out."

"And Shia. If we're allowed."

"I'm sure she's already been factored into the equation," Sam answered. "But what about Ashlinke?"

"She never broke a law, she just had the misfortune of being born there. I doubt this government can stop us getting her and I don't think General Hammond would deny her permission to come back to Earth, do you?"

Sam shook her head and then, walking next to O'Neill, they approached Jonas and Teal'c. Jonas stood up as they approached, a large smile on his face. "You two look much better," he commented. "How was it down there?"

O'Neill and Sam exchanged glances. There were things that had occurred during their imprisonment that they had a silent understanding, would never become light of day. "We had a bit of trouble," O'Neill stated simply. "It was filthy, smelly and not very pleasant."

"We both have minor injuries," Sam explained her back wound and the colonel's stabbed arm. "And Fortman is pretty bad. We should get them all out of there asap."

"We have permission for the girl involved with Braddick to be brought back to Earth. Is she alright?" Jonas asked. He had heard stories of what happened to women in the prison.

"She's alright," O'Neill answered. "We need to get another girl out. Ashlinke's a teenage girl that we rescued."

"What was she arrested for?" Jonas asked.

"Nothing, she was born there."

"Okay," Jonas said, nodding his head. "We might be able to persuade the Chancellor for Ashlinke's freedom, but I have no idea how to get the others out."

"Can't we reason," Sam said, "that the other three members of SG-12 perceived the arrest of Braddick as a threat and were just trying to protect him."

"We might be able to," Jonas agreed. "That still leaves Braddick and Shia."

O'Neill sighed in exasperation. "If they had been married they wouldn't have been arrested, right?" Jonas nodded. "Well, then we marry them like you married us."

"How?" Jonas asked. "They've been in a prison and they consummated their relationship before going down there."

"Is there any proof of that?" Sam asked.

"No."

"Well, then," O'Neill said. "We just have to fake more papers."

"No, sir," Sam answered, "that won't work. Shia never went to our planet."

"Can't we just pretend that one of us or SG-12 can marry people. You know, like they have the authority to."

"Colonel, that's it!" Sam said.

"What?" he asked.

"The old Captain of the ship thing," Jonas said to Sam, both of them smiling.

"Yes," Sam nodded. "And it might just work. Major Baker could have done it while they were on the planet and before they went to jail."

"What?" O'Neill repeated.

Jonas nodded. "So Braddick never broke a law. His teammates then really did not see why they were being arrested." He turned to O'Neill. "Colonel, you may have just solved everyone's problem."

"Huh?"

Jonas began to walk off and Sam paused before following. "Well done, Colonel."

O'Neill turned to Teal'c. "Did you follow any of that?"

"Indeed," Teal'c replied, following after Sam and Jonas, leaving O'Neill standing there confused.

"Of course you did."

-=-=-=-=-

Three days later, Samantha Carter was sitting at home, relaxing on her sofa. SG's twelve and one had been released from the infirmary that morning except Fortman who had to stay in for longer, he would be fine though Doctor Fraiser assured. Shia and Ashlinke had to stay in the infirmary for longer, too. They were aliens, after all and they might not adapt to Earth and it's germs and microbes very easily. Unfortunately, there were going to be consequences for Braddick, too. Sam knew that the others were going out for the evening, but Sam did not want to go. A lot had happened to her while she was in prison. She had not only acted like a vulnerable female but she had allowed herself to kiss her commanding officer. She had broken regulations and could never go back to a normal working relationship with him. She had lost some of her own self-respect and she did not doubt that O'Neill, too, had lost respect for her. What had she been thinking? She could not go back to her colonel treating her like one of the guys, yet she did not want to be treated like a weak female. She would just have to return to working with him as before, but she was not ready to face the social aspect of their friendship yet.

She picked up a book to read just as her doorbell rang and then someone knocked on the door. There was only one person who rang and knocked as if they were an impatient child and it was Colonel O'Neill. Sam knew that she could not ignore him so she got up and opened the door. Standing right outside were the three other members of her team.

"Evening," she greeted.

"Come on, Carter," O'Neill said, "we've got a night out to get to. Celebrating our freedom and all." O'Neill waggled his eyebrows as he spoke.

Sam smiled politely. She now faced a night out with the three members of her team, and two from SG-12. "I'm not really up for it tonight, sir."

O'Neill nodded. "Carter, come on."

"Sir," she protested.

O'Neill turned to Jonas and Teal'c. "You two go ahead, we'll catch up once I've persuaded the Major here."

"Okay, Colonel." Jonas replied as he and Teal'c left.

O'Neill turned back to Sam and smiled. "Can I come in then?"

Reluctantly she stepped away from the door, allowing him access to her house. "Colonel, I'm really not in the mood for going out."

"Why not?" he asked, walking further into her house and she followed after closing her front door.

"Because I'd rather just be here. Alone."

"Why? Carter, I know something was up while we were in the prison. That you felt like you had no dignity because you needed one of us all the time, but you're home now and if you feel embarrassed because you acted and were treated differently you shouldn't be. I promise that if you come out tonight we'll treat you like normal, like you're one of the guys and I'll make sure that SG-12 do, too. Let's go celebrate."

Sam sighed in annoyance, he did not even know that he had just made things worse. "What's to celebrate? I don't want to go and spend the evening with you treating me like one of the guys."

"You're confusing me, Carter."

"I'm not one of the guys. I'm a girl." She knew that just a few days ago she was objecting to being treated like the female, but she wanted to be in the middle. She was not one of the guys, but she was not helpless. She should never have kissed him, then maybe she would not be thinking like this.

"I know that," O'Neill replied, confusion in his voice and on his face.

"Well, you never treat me like you know."

"It's difficult." O'Neill answered. He looked as confused as Sam felt, both of them felt like they were not making sense.

"Why?" Now it was her turn to question him.

"I'm your commanding officer. You're under my command and I don't want to take advantage of you, like in the prison." His voice was quiet as he brought up the subject that she never wanted to discuss again.

"You didn't," she whispered. He had done nothing wrong. She had kissed him, she had been caught up in the adrenaline and the past six years of flirtation. She had not expected him to be able to stop the kiss, he felt for her what she felt for him. He had just done what came naturally, she had taken advantage of him.

Jack knew that it was dangerous to bring up their kiss, that she might just clam up completely. He knew that they should not have kissed, but they had. It had not been one-sided and he should have stopped it. He was the commanding officer and he should have had some self restraint, some control. He had taken advantage of her when she was vulnerable and feeling small and powerless.

"Yes, I did!" he shouted angrily. He could not let her blame herself for what he had done. "You were attacked and I completely forgot that you were a Major. All I saw was a female and I kissed you."

"That's rubbish," she argued back. Her tone was angry now. "I kissed you, sir," she spat out the word as if it tasted bad in her mouth. "We didn't kiss because I was relieved or because I forgot that you were my Colonel. I kissed you because..." she paused, seemingly lost for words. Maybe she was not sure why she had kissed him, Jack thought. "Just go to the bar, sir."

"Carter, what the hell's going on?" he growled. If she had not kissed him out of relief, then why? Why had neither of them stopped the kiss, even if they knew they should not be doing it?

"I can't keep everything in the room anymore. I can't keep getting close to you and then having to rebuild walls. I can't be treated like one of the guys all of the time and then feel what I feel for you and still be just one of the guys."

"Sam, trust me," his voice softened. They never discussed their feelings for each other, but he had often thought that at some point everything would come crashing out. "One day."

She sighed and turned away from him. "One day, Jack, is too far away. One of us will give up and move on, find someone else." She glanced up at him for a second to see if there were any reaction, but he prevented himself from reacting.

He walked towards the door, heading out of her house. "I won't." Without pausing he continued, "Look, are you really gonna pass up a night out? People will wonder why. And I'm no good under pressure. What am I gonna say to them when they ask me?" He had gone as far as he could in discussing and admitting to his feelings.

Everything was quiet as he stood still, holding the wooden doorframe. He waited for an answer. "Okay, sir, just so that people don't ask you a load of questions. Let me just grab my coat." She relented just to stop him complaining. She knew that he would not give up until she agreed and people might ask questions and after spending time in a prison where she slept every night with her head on her C.O's shoulder, questions might lead to trouble. A few seconds later the pair of them left Sam's house, heading to the bar in silence.

-=-=-=-=-

Sam could not help giggling at Jonas' comments, she nearly fell off of her bar stool at the images it had conjured. Thankfully, Jack's hand was at her back to steady her. She turned to him, a smile still on her face. "Thanks, sir."

"Well, I'm not gonna let you fall, am I?"

Sam could not remember why she had hesitated about going out tonight. It was coming up for eleven o'clock and they were still having fun. None of them could drink due to the antibiotics Janet had put them on, except Jonas who was more hilarious when drunk than Daniel had been. Sam could see the hint of a bandage poking out from underneath Jack's shirt sleeve, reminding her that they were both injured.

Sam still could not believe that SG-12 and Shia had been released so easily from the prison. Jonas and herself had explained to the Chancellor that Baker had authority to marry people, even though in truth he did not, and that he had married Braddick and Shia prior to their consummating their relationship. When Braddick had then been arrested, his team-members had perceived it as an attack and had fought back. The Chancellor had then had no other course of action but to release all five of them. Jack had then persuaded the Chancellor to allow Ashlinke to go free, she had committed no crime herself. Jonas had then suggested that the Chancellor might want to rethink his prison system.

Jonas excused himself to go to the toilet and promptly tripped over Sam's bar-stool. "Sorry," he slurred.

"That's okay, Jonas," Sam grinned again. She swore that by the end of tonight her cheek muscles would be sore.

As Jonas continued onto the toilet, Hart spoke. "I'll take Jonas back to the base when he's done. Teal'c, do you wanna ride too?"

"Thank you," the Jaffa nodded his head. Teal'c did not drink, his symbiote did not allow him to get very drunk and he did not find it a pleasurable experience. He had told Sam in the past, however, that he did enjoy watching the others drunk, especially seeing Jack trying to play pool.

Baker then turned to Jack. "How are you two getting home? I have my car if either of you need a ride?" he offered, looking at Jack through-out.

Sam looked over at Jack, the smile leaving her face and being replaced by a frown. Jack stared back at Baker and then looked down at his drink. "My car's at Carter's and she only lives around the corner. Thanks for the offer, though."

"Are you sure, Colonel?" Baker asked.

Sam felt the tension increase by ten notches when Jack looked back at Baker, giving him a silencing look. "Come on, Carter, let's go."

"'Kay," she replied, downing the last of her soda and following her commanding officer out of the building. Once they were outside, Sam fell into step with Jack. "Sir, what was that about?"

"What?" he asked.

"Major Baker," she answered.

"Nothing." Sam stopped walking and waited for Jack's two steps before he stopped and turned back to face her. Jack sighed. "Baker thinks that there's something between us."

"Excuse me? What sort of something?" She was worried now. She did not want any rumours getting around. She had worked hard to get to where she was, to get the respect that she deserved. Sleeping her way to the top was not something that Sam wanted attached to her name.

"He was ... concerned when we were in the prison. He thought I was treating you..."

"In a way that you weren't treating him and we're both Majors." Sam finished for him.

"Yeah," Jack nodded. His hands were deep in his pockets and he was looking down at his feet. He was uncomfortable.

"To be fair, sir, you were treating me differently because you had to. None of the other officers had to be protected like I did."

"But now he thinks it's more. You slept with your head on my shoulder, for cryin out loud."

Sam was taken aback slightly at him blaming her for that. "I never had any objections from you, sir."

"I'm not objecting. I ... I like it. He just doesn't understand us, like T and Jonas do. He thinks something's going on, that we're breaking regulations when we're not."

"No," Sam laughed sarcastically, "we're just getting as damn close as possible."

Jack looked up at her, taking one step closer and looking her in the eye. "What you don't want us to? Do you want us to... What? If you want me to back off and not get close to breaking any rules, I will. I'll play this your way, Sam."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"It's your career at stake. It's you who rumours will affect. If you want to break rules with me, fine. If you want to play by the rules one-hundred percent, fine. If you wanna walk a fine line, well that's okay with me too."

"So it's my decision?" He nodded. "And what about what you want?"

"You know what I want, Sam." He tore his eyes away from hers.

"Breaking rules, sticking to them or walking a fine line, sir, which do you want?"

He looked back at her again. "Ideally, breaking," he admitted. He did not wait for her to reply or react. "Come on, Carter, let's get you home." He started walking without her again, forcing her to have to catch up.

She knew that he had to end it there and that she had to leave it. She knew that she could not reply the same to him and that saying anything else in reply would hurt him. She would just have to go back to normal. "So Baker's okay?"

"Yeah, I'll reassure him tomorrow that nothing's going on." They continued on for the rest of the short journey in silence. When they got to her front door, she opened it and turned on the nearest light, illuminating the hallway of her house. She turned back to Jack. "Home sweet home," he grinned.

She smiled back. Any awkwardness that had been between them was now gone. Another moment in their lives forced into 'the room'. "Thanks for walking me home."

Jack smiled sincerely. "Come on, you are my wife. What kinda husband would I be if I didn't?" He waggled his eyebrows up and down.

She could not help laughing out loud at him. She loved the fact that one minute they could be admitting their feelings and openly discussing them and then the next minute they were just partaking in harmless flirting. "So," she asked, "is tonight our wedding night?"

"I guess so," he whispered huskily. The smiles fell from both of their faces, a serious look replacing it. And then the harmless turned to harmful.

Sam looked down at the ground, finding her doorstep incredibly interesting. "I'm tired."

She saw from his shadow that he was nodding. "I'll see you tomorrow." He turned away from her and took a step towards his car. She only let him take one step before she reached out, putting a hand on his good arm.

"Wait," she whispered.

-=-=-=-=-

Jack had only made it one step when her hand was on his arm. He could feel its warmth immediately and was finally glad that he had worn a short-sleeved shirt. He was also glad that it was his good arm, even though he had no idea why she was stopping him. He could hope that it was because she was ready, but he had hoped for that for too many nights now.

"What?" he whispered. He could not find his voice, he was tense and nervous. She was not replying so he turned back to her and looked at her. His eyes met hers and he saw hesitation in them. "Why do I have to wait?"

"I'm not sleepy tired, Jack." Jack's breath caught in his throat at the use of his first name. "I'm tired of walking a fine line, of hoping that one day the line will be gone and that before then I won't cross it. That I'm going to remain forever scared. Scared of getting hurt."

"What are you saying?" he asked, his voice mirroring her quietness.

"What do you think I'm saying?" There was no sarcasm in her voice or her eyes.

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "It could mean that you don't want to go anywhere near the line anymore, or that you wanna jump right over it. I can't make a guess because--"

He was so relieved when she cut him off. "Jump. I want to jump. I'm ready to jump. I'm fed up and tired of everything else and I can't have less. I need more. Help me jump, Jack."

Their eyes were still locked and he could see in them that she was. This was no adrenaline kick or fear of losing him. This had nothing to do with alien viruses or mind control. She really did want him as more than her friend and commanding officer. "What about regs, Sam?"

"What about them?"

"You don't break them. You're a good officer and I'm not going to let you throw that away."

"First thing you taught me, sir, rules are made for breaking. How will consummating anything between us change us? Neither of us are in other relationships because we want to be with each other. The feelings that we have are already going to affect our work, breaking the rules. We've been breaking the no frat regs for years, with no joy for us."

"We can't tell anyone. We have to act like normal so that no one suspects anything. You couldn't even tell Janet."

"Give in, Colonel, break the one rule left that you haven't broken yet." She did not wait for an answer, she walked into her house, leaving the door wide open.

Jack paused outside of her house and took a deep breath. He wanted to jump, break the one rule that he had in fact never really broken during his career and follow her into the house. His brain started to come up with all the reasons that he should not jump. He shook his head, banishing all thoughts and walked into Samantha Carter's house.

The end :-)

Hope you enjoyed it, feedback is very welcome.


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